Method and system for hybrid location detection

Abstract

The disclosure generally relates to a method and apparatus for hybrid location detection. The disclosed embodiments enable location determination for a mobile device in communication with one or more Access Points (APs) and an optical camera capable of measuring distance to a known object. In an exemplary embodiment, the camera is used to determine distance form a known object or a known location (i.e., anchor). In addition, using Wi-Fi infrastructure, round-trip signal propagation time may be used to determine one or more ranges from known access points (APs) connected. Round-trip signal propagation time may be measured, for example, by using a Time-Of-Flight algorithm. Additionally, trilateration algorithms may be used to determine a course location for the mobile device relative to the APs. Using a combination of optical distance measurement and the course location, the exact location of the mobile device may be determined.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]1. Field[0002]The disclosure relates to a method, apparatus and system to fuse multiple detection systems to accurately determine location of a mobile device.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]Outdoor navigation is widely deployed due to advancement in various global positioning systems (GPS). Recently, there has been an increased focus on indoor navigation and position location. Indoor navigation differs from outdoor navigation because the indoor environment precludes receiving GPS satellite signals. As a result, effort is now directed to solving the indoor navigation problem. As yet, this problem does not have a scalable solution with satisfactory precision.[0005]A solution to this problem may be based on the Time-of-Flight (ToF) method. ToF is defined as the overall time a signal propagates from the user to an access point (AP) and back to the user. This value can be converted into distance by dividing the signal's roundtrip travel time by two and multiplyin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent is about a method to accurately determine the location of a mobile device in indoor environments where GPS signals are not available. The method uses the Time-of-Flight (ToF) method, which is a scalable solution that requires significant hardware changes to the Wi-Fi modem and other devices. The ToF method is also affected by conflicting anchors, but the disclosed embodiment solves this problem by accurately fusing multiple detection systems. The patent discusses the use of the BT and Bluetooth low energy (BLE) standard for exchanging data over short distances using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the industrial, scientific, and medical fields.

Problems solved by technology

As yet, this problem does not have a scalable solution with satisfactory precision.

The ToF range calculation depends on determining the precise signal receive / transmit times. As little as 3 nanoseconds of discrepancy will result in about 1 meter of range error.

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